Burning-rocks victims 'excited' about recovery, life

Dec. 14, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Lyn Hiner, the San Clemente woman who had third-degree burns after picking up rocks at San Onofre State Beach, shows a picture of how her hand looked following the incident. KAREN TAPIA, FOR THE REGISTER

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Lyn Hiner, the San Clemente woman who had third-degree burns after picking up rocks at San Onofre State Beach, shows her hand after skin grafts and a recent surgery. KAREN TAPIA, FOR THE REGISTER

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Rob and Lyn Hiner discuss life after recovery from her third-degree burns. KAREN TAPIA, FOR THE REGISTER

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Lyn Hiner, the San Clemente woman who had third-degree burns after picking up rocks at San Onofre State Beach, shows her hand after skin grafts and surgery. KAREN TAPIA, FOR THE REGISTER

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Rob and Lyn Hiner stand in their kitchen, which was renovated after the burning-rocks incident. KAREN TAPIA, FOR THE REGISTER

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Lyn Hiner talks about her condition from her San Clemente home on Tuesday. KAREN TAPIA, FOR THE REGISTER

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Lyn Hiner, the San Clemente woman who had third-degree burns from rocks found at San Onofre State Beach, talks about her condition from her San Clemente home on Tuesday. KAREN TAPIA, FOR THE REGISTER

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Burns as the result of the rocks that Lyn Hiner picked up from the shore at San Onofre State Beach. LYN HINER, COURTESY PHOTO

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Officials with Orange County Public Health sent two rocks found at San Onofre State Beach to a state lab for review. ORANGE COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH

Lyn Hiner, the San Clemente woman who had third-degree burns after picking up rocks at San Onofre State Beach, shows a picture of how her hand looked following the incident. KAREN TAPIA, FOR THE REGISTER

SAN CLEMENTE – Seven months after being burned by rocks that ignited in her shorts pocket, Lyn Hiner is headed to a full recovery and hopes to put the freak accident behind her.

Hiner has undergone multiple skin grafts on her right leg where the rocks caused third-degree burns. She's spent weeks in physical therapy to restore function and mobility to several fingers of her right hand. And finally, hypersensitive nerve endings that left her feeling like she wanted to "jump out of her skin" have eased. Doctors say she should be fully recovered in a year.

"Over the course of seven months, my healing has been amazing," Hiner said. "I can get up and down my stairs. I can do about everything with my hand. You take the simplest things for granted. I'm 99 percent, that's amazing!"

The rocks were found near Upper Trestles on San Onofre State Beach on May 12, when Hiner and her daughters walked the beach looking for interesting rocks. The 43-year-old mother put the items into her pockets and had returned home a few hours later when the rocks suddenly ignited. The land, property of the Camp Pendleton Marine base, is operated by state park rangers, and the rocks were in San Diego County.

Orange County Public Health suspected the rocks were tainted with phosphorous. An independent state lab confirmed the phosphorous. In June, Camp Pendleton officials announced that the base would investigate. An internal fact-finding report will not be made public, Capt. Barry Edwards said on Thursday.

Officials from other involved agencies, including OC Public Heath, California State Parks and San Diego County Public Health have not received any information from the Marine base.

The exact original location of the rocks is unknown but believed to be between Cypress Shores and the Trestles area. Several hours after Hiner had them in her pockets, the rocks spontaneously ignited.Hiner's hand was burned in addition to her leg, and her husband, Rob, burned his hand trying to help his wife pull off the burning shorts.

The Hiners were taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana. Lyn Hiner was discharged from the hospital on May 23.

"God gave us a lot of peace through this experience," said Rob Hiner, sitting with his wife in their San Clemente home this week. "It definitely made us realize how fragile things are. Our lives from that point have made a 180-degree turn. What's neat and encouraging is that we're coming out on the other side and we're OK. It's almost unbelievable and surreal; we're excited where we're at."

The Hiners and their two daughters were out of their home for more than two months. Hazardous-materials experts decontaminated the house shortly after the incident, and the kitchen flooring and cabinets had to be redone. The couple calls the incident a freak event and said they hope it doesn't happen to someone else. Their medical- and home-insurance companies looked into who might be liable but were unable to find the direct cause.

"It appeared it had something to do with the military, but there is no direct connection," Rob Hiner said. "There is no way we can find the answer. We're OK with that. Now we just want to put it in the past and look forward to the future."

Hazmat teams from Orange County and San Diego counties and Camp Pendleton Fire combed the beaches shortly after the incident. Nothing was found. Since the incident, people have come to the beach to look for more rocks. Some rocks were found that looked like those that burned Lyn Hiner, but a white substance ended up being seagull excrement, said California State Parks Lt. Rich Haydon, district superintendent for the parks.

Haydon said he's seen no follow-up report from the Marine base, but he's seen Navy flares wash up onshore.

"It's always concerning anytime military ordnance washes up on the beach," he said. "It was a horrific incident that could have been worse. There is no one around here that uses phosphorus except for the military. I hope it never happens again."

Haydon warns anyone who may encounter military-looking items to stay away from them. Those who see something suspicious are asked to immediately contact a state park ranger or anyone associated with the park.

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